223 vs 308

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 1/14/2019 | R Chastain

[w1n1]

Heres What to Use it for
Debates between different cartridges superiority is always a big discussion for gun enthusiasts at every gun club. Sometimes views from die-hard .308 users or .223 followers can be too one sided to reason with.
Both cartridges have valid points to support their case. Lets take a comparison perspective between the .223 and the mighty .308 and see what its good for. Just to let you know this comparisons is not to be technical for the gun nut but for the layman’s gun enthusiasts.

General Comparisons
For the most part, the .223 Remington has a flatter trajectory than the .308 Winchester out to 500 yards. However, the typical .308 Winchester load has more than twice the muzzle energy than the .223 load.
Also, the heavier bullets with a higher ballistic coefficient used by the .308 retains more energy and velocity than the lightweight .223 bullets.
So basically, the typical .308 load usually has as much or more energy remaining at 400-500 yards as the .223 does at the muzzle. Which makes the .308 Winchester a much better choice for long range shooting.

With that in mind, the .223 Remington has a flatter trajectory at short range, and the recoil is less than the .308 Winchester. Felt recoil will vary from shooter to shooter and rifle to rifle, but free recoil energy is still a useful way to compare the two cartridges. Read the rest of 223 vs 308.

[DarthVader]

308 any day of the week.

[D Rider]

The .308 is overkill for prarrie dogs and coyote.

[READINABLUESTATE]

“The .308 is overkill for prarrie dogs and coyote.”

Ya I hate my Prairie dog chops and coyote steaks all shot up by the 308.

[Vaquero]

Love both cartridges. In the jungles ov Vietnam the .223 was mostly sufficient. In cities shooting through buildings and cars and for open plains the .308 would be my choice.

The beauty of the .223 is the amount of ammo you can carry. My dad during WW 2 had no problem with his .30 carbine ( a fairly mild round) in the swamps and jungles of the Solomons.

For long range and for power to penetrate I’d personally prefer the .308.

The AR was designed for the .308. The AR10. It is much lighter than the M-14. Has the same punch.

Both rounds can be used by the same squad if supply chains are properly run. I think using both is the way to go.

[PapaBear3625]

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2004/08/the_last_big_lie_of_vietnam_ki.html

On the “lethality” of .223

[Chainmail]

"The .308 is overkill for prarrie dogs and coyote."

Yup. But just right for killing people who are shooting at you.

[EQAndyBuzz]

“The .308 is overkill for prarrie dogs and coyote.”

The sound from the .308 will make every prairie dog for a mile drop back down into its den. Good note, if you hit the thing it will explode in a beautiful puff of blood.

[wardaddy]

The myth of tumbling

[Chainmail]

" In the jungles ov Vietnam the .223 was mostly sufficient."

No, it wasn't: way too often the damn thing just knocked dust off them and they kept running. When the rifle worked.

[Flintlock]

Get one of each and you will be set from chucks to elk.
Reeeeally big stuff will need a bit more power, IMHO.

(This does NOT apply to the .22LR. This is NOT a real ‘gun’, but rather furniture. EVERY home should have at least one for training, practice as well as varmints and such. Rifle, AND pistol of course.)

[Vaquero]

Ha. Yeah prairie dogs get tossed out. Coyotes have valuable pelts. Whatever round you use for coyotes load up with FMJ for 2 tiny holes. Unless you have a quality ‘explosive ‘ round that never makes it all the way through then you have only 1 tiny hole.

[Vaquero]

I have heard those stories. I wouldn’t argue with any GI who was there. I believe after a while they patched up the reliability problem.

[Clutch Martin]

Here’s what I remember... Vietnam maximum ranges were WWII minimum ranges. Vietnam was a different environment than the Mideast and the Mideast has buildings made of concrete and the 5.56 is not an effective round to penetrate.

[DarthVader]

I am not talking about prairie dogs and coyote but other vermin.

[mountainlion]

Got some fake news here. You can hunt deer with 223 but you will get in trouble in lots of states because it is illegal!

Those old AK47s with the worn out barrels are the ones that tumble.

[Chainmail]

"after a while they patched up the reliability problem."

Sure. After several thousand of us were needlessly killed or maimed and the war was over.

[usconservative]

I have both and it really depends on what you're using it for.

308 all day long for hunting deer for example.

223 for small game, rodents, zombies (when necessary) and you can define "zombie" any way you wish.

[InterceptPoint]

Oops. I thought we were talking about the 2016 electoral vote count. My bad. Feel free to ignore this post and my waste of bandwidth and Freeper’s time.

[sparklite2]

“after a while they patched up the reliability problem.”

Sure. After several thousand of us were needlessly killed or maimed and the war was over.

---

In the early days of WWII, Navy torpedoes were ineffective. It took major bitching to get Washington DC to look into the problem and eventually fix it. The bad torps saved a lot of lives ... mostly Japanese.